Department Awards

The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) administers over 500 Department Awards, valued in thousands of dollars, endowed or annually funded by donors to the University of Alberta. The Dean, FGSR holds Administrative Responsibility for Department Awards. The awards fall under Statements of Trusts legally signed between the University of Alberta and the donor who is providing the award funds. Under the Statement of Trust the donor has designated a specific purpose(s) of the funds (eg. an award, research support, etc.) and eligibility criteria, also referred to the “Terms of Reference” (TOR). 

To be considered for Department Awards, students must be admitted to a graduate degree program or have completed an application for admission. There are two Department Award funding categories:

1) Department Specific Awards:

Awards are designated to one department in which the Graduate Chair/Coordinator will nominate a student(s) to FGSR. Once the nomination is received at FGSR, the candidate does not compete among other university peers. FGSR reviews the nomination for eligibility and completeness.

2) Multi-Department Competitions

Awards are designated to multiple departments in which the Graduate Chair/Coordinator will nominate one student to FGSR. Once the nomination is received at FGSR, the candidate competes among peers from other university departments. A competitive review and adjudication process takes place by FGSR’s Graduate Scholarship Committee and only a certain recipient (or number of recipients based on the award’s Terms of Reference) are selected to receive the award.

Department Award funding opportunities based on registration status, residency status, faculty, and program can be viewed in the searchable database below. All award numbers and values are projections, and are subject to change at any time. 

As soon as an award has been funded and is open for the year, the award information will be available in GSMS. For FGSR administered awards' current eligibility, value and nomination deadlines, log in to the GSMS Awards Portal. To search for an award in GSMS, refer to training materials which can be found under Award Resources.

Contact FGSR Award Services for clarification and more details, if required at grad.awards@ualberta.ca.